Electric fireplaces have two main components; one that controls and operates the flame effect, and one that provides the heat.
The flame effect can either be produced by an LED screen, or a light source with rotating mirrors that imitates the effect of flickering flames.
Many electric fireplaces also use a conventional space heater as the way to provide heat to your home. This component includes a blower that forces cooler air through a heating element that heats up the air and provides warmth to the room. The heater on an electric fireplace can also be an infrared heater instead of a heating element and blower.
Both of these components simply require electricity to operate. There’s no requirement for a source of solid fuel or oxygen, which a real fire would need.
As such, electric fireplaces simply need to be plugged into a nearby power socket to work.
Many manufacturers of electric fireplaces, including the manufacturers of my own electric fireplaces, state that they should always be plugged straight into a power socket, and never any form of timer plug or extension lead.
Therefore, electric fireplaces will need to be located in your home near to a power socket, without the need for an extension cable. They should be placed in an area that isn’t confined, with plenty of space around it for air circulation.
Here’s where I place my freestanding electric fireplace when the open fireplace isn’t being used, and also shows it plugged straight in at the wall.